Did the Mariners get a steal in Tim Beckham, standout of their hot start?
Mar 29, 2019, 2:24 PM | Updated: 2:27 pm
Shortstop Tim Beckham is 7 for 12 at the plate to start his Mariners tenure. (AP)
(AP)
Perhaps the most surprising part of the Mariners’ 3-0 start to the 2019 season, besides that 3-0 record itself, is the performance of shortstop Tim Beckham at the plate.
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One of the less-heralded additions of Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto’s busy offseason, the 29-year-old Beckham joined the Mariners on a one-year deal, presumably to be their starting shortstop until the younger J.P. Crawford is ready to come up from Triple-A Tacoma.
Well, nobody is talking about Crawford right now. Not after Beckham hit his second and third home runs of the year on Thursday, both off Boston ace Chris Sale, a pitcher who Beckham was 0 for 15 lifetime against until the Mariners’ 12-4 win over the Red Sox. Beckham is 7 for 12 at the plate with five RBIs and two walks, and his three homers are tops in the league for now.
So, is Beckham… good?
“That’s a really great question,” Mariners insider Shannon Drayer said in response to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Mike Salk on Friday morning. “That was my immediate something that we need to look into a little bit more, because we didn’t see much in spring training (from Beckham) and I don’t think you expected much with his track record going into spring training. But he’s had a heck of a start.”
While Beckham’s first three games are eye-opening, it’s not completely surprising that he could put together a strong run of games together like this. He hit .278 with 22 home runs in 2017, and he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays.
“You’ve always known that he’s had a little bit of pop, you’ve always known that he could hit the baseball hard, and he’s come out of the gates swinging,” Drayer said. “It’s not easy to put baseballs where he did at T-Mobile Park, let alone in March. … I don’t know if he’s doing anything differently – I want to know now.”
Drayer had much more to discuss on Friday’s edition of Brock and Salk. You can hear the full segment embedded in the player in this post or download a podcast of it at this link.
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